Groups

NetMan users can be members of user groups. At first glance, it might seem superfluous to have NetMan User Groups when NetMan Desktop Manager supports the most commonly used network groups (NT, NetWare, LDAP), and the management of proprietary groups is often merely associated with additional – and unnecessary – administrative overhead. The argument to the contrary is that NetMan user groups are active on a totally different level: they serve exclusively to grant or deny permissions in NetMan Scripts, and have nothing to do with privileges in directories, files or other network resources. If you find that your existing network groups provide sufficient control over NetMan Scripts, then you probably do not need to employ NetMan user groups as well. It is best to use existing network groups wherever possible, to avoid generating extra work. But if you find that the existing groups cannot be used to configure the control you need, you may find it easier to use NetMan Desktop Manager groups than to create new network groups (or to have them created by your network administrator). NetMan user groups are particularly useful if any of the following is true in your network environment:

•Your NetMan administrators cannot modify existing network groups.

•Your network can be accessed from other domains and networks; for example, by anonymous users through Session Hosts (NetMan lets you define a group exclusively for remote users and assign permissions accordingly).

•Your network has groups that are not supported by NetMan (for example, if you are using Banyan Vines or a large Microsoft network with no domain controller).

 

You can define the following for a group:

•Members: The members of the group.

•Properties: You can define properties which can then be referenced during processing, e.g. by a Read Properties Action.

•Description: You can enter text that describes, for example, the purpose of the group.

 

For details on creating user groups, see "Create User Groups", and for station groups, see "Create Stations Groups".